Prince and Jarnagin rule Valdosta's Azalea Fest 5K

On 21 April 1949 Miss Betty Ruth Smoak of Walterboro, South Carolina won second place in the competition to be queen of the Gum Turpentine Festival in Valdosta, Georgia. Eventually Miss Smoak's beauty pageant days came to an end and so did the Gum Turpentine Festival. But in 2001 Valdosta got back into the festival business with the annual Azalea Festival, a celebration that included a five-kilometer footrace. It's lost to the mists of time as to whether the Gum Turpentine Festival included any kind of running event, and what Miss Smoak's best 5K time was.


What is quite clear is that on Saturday 9 March 2013 Jesse Prince, Valdosta State junior and cross-country ace, ran 16:17 to win the 13th annual Azalea Festival 5K, besting a field of 125 athletes. For Prince, a selection of the Gulf South Conference's All-Academic Cross-Country Team, it wasn't quite as fast as his 15:54 at the St. John 5K Road Race, but it was fast enough to put him nearly 100 meters ahead of runner-up Nate Wondimu. Wondimu, a VSU freshman, ran 16:36. Another VSU freshman cross-country runner, Carlos Ponce, placed third in 18:39. Danielle Jarnagin, a freshman runner on the VSU women's cross-country team, was the first female finisher in the 2013 Azalea Festival 5K, placing 10th overall in 20:10.


The 2013 race started and finished at the Valdosta State University Recreation Center at 1300 Sustella Avenue. The Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority hosted the event, and A Course/Line provided finish line services.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Azalea Festival 5K

1. 16:17 ~ Jesse Prince (M, 21) Valdosta, GA
2. 16:36 ~ Nathinael Wondimu (M, 19) Valdosta, GA
3. 18:39 ~ Carlos Ponce (M, 18) Valdosta, GA
4. 18:52 ~ Ian Hester (M, 29) St. Louis, MO
5. 19:25 ~ Jason Castro (M, 39) Valdosta, GA
6. 19:28 ~ Matthew Baun (M, 13) Valdosta, GA
7. 19:57 ~ Nicholas Dhont (M, 29) Barney, GA
8. 20:08 ~ Jacob Bearrentine (M, 20) Valdosta, GA
9. 20:10 ~ Daniel Swilley (M, 14) Valdosta, GA
10. 20:30 ~ Justin Pickett (M, 15) Valdosta, GA

Top Ten Females, 2013 Azalea Festival 5K

1. 20:10 ~ Danielle Jarnagin (F, 19) Valdosta, GA
2. 21:33 ~ Kelsey Morse (F, 10) Valdosta, GA
3. 22:11 ~ Mackenzie Morse (F, 13) Valdosta, GA
4. 22:26 ~ Meagan Sackenheim (F, 28) Valdosta, GA
5. 22:59 ~ Angela Bruhl (F, 29) Quitman, GA
6. 23:27 ~ McKenzie Page (F, 13) Ray City, GA
7. 24:09 ~ Alison Thornhill (F, 33) Valdosta, GA
8. 24:15 ~ Stephanie Gobler (F, 30) Atlanta, GA
9. 24:25 ~ Angel Godwin (F, 39) Valdosta, GA
10. 24:34 ~ Debbie Green (F, 46) Valdosta, GA

Valdosta Azalea Festival 5K champions, 2001-2013
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
17 March 2001
16 March 2002
15 March 2003
13 March 2004
12 March 2005
11 March 2006	16:51 ~ Andrew Minnicks	20:34 ~ Susan Fischer	123
10 March 2007	17:17 ~ Todd Smoot	19:33 ~ Melissa Daugherty	152
15 March 2008	16:56 ~ John Seppala	21:46 ~ Brandi Faircloth	143
14 March 2009	18:16 ~ Chris Gaither	20:40 ~ Mary Anne Grayson	155
13 March 2010	16:46 ~ Brandon Skiles	20:54 ~ Brandi Faircloth	126
12 March 2011	17:39 ~ James Marino	20:39 ~ Alice Smoot	131
10 March 2012	20:33 ~ Toby Wilkey	22:10 ~ Christie Kingsbury	109
9 March 2013	16:17 ~ Jesse Prince	20:10 ~ Danielle Jarnagin	125

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Valdosta Azalea Festival 5K
  http://www.runningintheusa.com/Results/View.aspx?ResultsID=113099
  
  
• 2011 story, "Valdosta celebrates azaleas; Marino and Smoot celebrate wins"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/03/azalea-fest-2011.html
  
  
• Find more upcoming flowery races in the region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1